Toilet flush tank valve guide



April 6, 1965 w. H. SMITH 3,175,318

TOILET FLUSH TANK VALVE GUIDE Filed oct. 19. 1962' 68 I BYW f i United States Patent O 3,176,318 TOILET FLUSH TANK VALVE GUIDE Willard H. Smith, 671 Mooreville Road, Milan, Mich. Filed Oct. 19, 1962, Ser. No. 231,643 1 Claim. (Cl. 4-S7) This invention relates generally to toilet operating mechanism tand particularly to tank flush valve mechamsm.

As it is Well known, toilet flush tanks are provided with a large water outlet, for communication with a toilet bowl, and ya valve member to control the outlet. Usually the valve member is a hollow rubber member having a downwardly directed conical end portion and is adapted to descend with the liquid level during the ilushing operation to engage a seat on the outlet following which the tank is refilled under the control of a float valve. As is also well known, the valve member is attached to the lower end of a stem, usually a rigid length of wire that is formed with a loop :at its upper end for operative connection to -a manually operable lever for raising the valve member. Further, the valve stem passes through -a guide bore in a cast bracket .and this guide bore is supposed to insure that the valve member will, on descent, be guided to its seat. However, it is also generally well known from -actual eX- perience that the guide bore does not insure the proper eating of the valve member which results in what is cornmonly referred to as a running toilet. From observation it has been noted that at times, the valve member, due to an unusually large guide bore cants to the extent that it rests on the rim of the outlet seat instead of engaging the seat properly. At other times, the valve stem cants and binds on the wall of the bore at the top and bottom thereof and does not descend with rthe water level. It was at one time believed that the guide bore became worn from contact with the valve stern, but new installations have given as much trouble as old worn installations and it has been my experience that plumbers have not been able to effect any cure for the unreliable operation of the tlush shut-off valve.

Accordingly, it is an object of my invention t'o obviate the above mentioned objection.

Another object of my invention is to provide for the guide bore of a iiush valve stem a guide member to insure reliable seating of the iush valve.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a guide for the Valve stem to insure reliable seating of the valve without detracting from the economical advantage in making the guide bore in a relatively inexpensive cast bracket.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved valve stem guide of the above mentioned character which can be readily applied without need of a plumber or special tools.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following detail description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. l is a fragmentary view partly in section of a toilet flush tank;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevational view of certain parts of the tlush valve mechanism shown removed from the tank and embodying features of my invention;

FIG. 3 is a Vertical sectional view, taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2, and

FIGS. 4 and 5 are plan views of certain parts of my valve member guide means.

Referring to the drawing by characters of reference, PEG. l illustrates a fragment of a conventional toilet llush tank lll having the usual walls including a bottom wall l2. Screw-threaded into the bottom wall 12 of the tank 1t) there is a tubular valve seat iitting l@ having its joint "ice with the bottom wall sealed by suitable packing rings 16, displaced by a packing nut 18. The fitting projects upwardly into the tank, the upper end of the fitting providing a valve seat 22 for receiving a conical valve member 24. At its lower end, the valve seat fitting 14 seats on the top 25 of a toilet bowl with a gasket 27 therebetween.

A pipe fitting 26, cast integral with the valve seat fitting ist, is laterally positioned therefrom and screwthreaded into the fitting 26 is the lower end of an overfiow stand pipe 28. The pipe fitting 26 is in communication with the Valve seat member 14 below the valve seat by a passage 3l.

A cast bracket 32 has a split tubular portion 34 that is received on the stand pipe 28 and is clamped thereto by a screw 3o. An arm of the bracket 32 extends horizontally `over the valve member 24 in spaced relation thereto and has a tubular end portion 38 which provides a guide bore dil, the vertical axis of which is centrally located with respect to the valve seat 22. Extending upwardly through the guide bore iii is a stem 42 to the lower end of which the valve member 24 is attached. This is a conventional valve stem made of a suitable rigid wire, the upper end of which is looped, as at 44. The loop 4d provides an abutment for connection to one end of a manually operated lever 26 by a connecting link liti. The link i8 is formed of wire having a loop 56 encircling the valve stem 42 and a hook end 52 which is hooked through the lever 416.

As is well known, when the lever 56 is pivoted by turning a lever (not shown) on the outside of tank 10, the link 43 after engaging loop 44 raises the valve member 24 from its seat 22, thus allowing the stored water to tiow to a toilet bowl. The above described structure is old in the art and as previously mentioned, the valve member 24.- does not always seat, but instead is sometimes caught on the edge of the seat as illustrated in FIG. l in dot and dash lines and at other times the stern 42 binds in the guide bore 40 and the valve member never reaches the seat. ln either case, the water entering the tank 10 continues to flow until the valve member is somehow manipulated to descend properly onto its seat. The usual and annoying practice is to move the handle back and forth until the valve member is accidentally dislodged and finally descends onto its seat.

ln order to insure reliable seating of the valve member 24 without changing the basic structure Iof fiush valve mechanisms and without appreciably increasing the cost thereof, l provide a pair of bushing inserts 54 and a pair of readily applicable bushing holders or retainers 56. The bushings 5d are made of a suitable wear-resisting material, preferably a resin plastic material, such as the material known commercially as nylon. The inner diameters of the bushings 54 are preferably made just slightly larger than the diameter of the valve stem 42 to limit canting of the stem.

The retainers 56 are strips of thin sheet metal, such as copper or copper alloy which is readily bendable and has little or no resilience. There are two of the bushing retainer strips S6 and each comprises a bushing retaining portion 5S, an attaching portion or tab 62 and an intermediate connecting portion 66. These portions of the strips are defined by the dot and dash bend lines and 72, FIG. 4. In the end portion 58 of each of the strips 56 there is formed a socket 64 to receive the bushing 54, the socket having an aperture 66 for clearance ofthe valve stem 42. Adjacent the socket 64 and the adjacent end of the retainer portion 58, each ofthe strips 56 is provided with a transverse slot 68 to receive the tab portion 62 of the other strip. ln this manner, the strips cooperate to hold each other and tne bushings 54 in place.

To apply the bushings 54 to the bore i0 it is first necessary to detach the valve member 24 from its stem the bore. One of the strip retainers 56 and one of the bushings 54 is then slipped onto the stern 42 after which w the stern is lowered and the Iother retainer strip and bushing S4'is slipped onto the lower end of the stem and the valve member '24 replaced on the stern. The retainerv strips 56 are then bent around the form of the upper and lower ends of the casting ends, substantially along the dot and dash lines of FIG. 4 and the tab'ends 62 are respectively inserted each through the slot'68 of the other strip and bent over as shown in FIG. 3. Y Y

While I have shown and described my bushing and retaining assembly in considerable detail, it Will be understood that many variations and changes Vmay be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of vthe invention.

What I claim is: Y A bushing attachment for a flush tank `having an outlet l of bendable metal strips, said strips having alike retainer portions forming two of the shorter sides of a rectangle, tab end portions to attach respectively each to the rev tainer portion of the-other, connecting portions forming controlled by a floatable valve member on a stern extending through a vertical bore in a bracket comprising a pair the longer opposite sides of the rectangle and connecting the retainerVY portions respectively to their tab portions, a retainer socket' formed in each of said retainer portions,

YYa tab receiving slot in each of said retainer portions on thel other side of the .sockets from said connecting portions, and a bushing in each of said sockets to beA h eld against oppositeends of said bore.

. References Cited bythe Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS `EDWARD BENHAM, Primary Examne. K

FRANK H. BRONAUGH,Y Examiner. 

